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Vest options?

Trying to help a friend with a disabled child who is outgrowing hi harnessed seat. I will repost her questions to me because I don't know anything about vests. Her child is 11 years old but still a bit under 65 pounds. EZ on vest? Baby Safety Car Vest? I recommended to Britax Pinnacle, because it is a seat that I know is larger, but since I have an almost 12 year old myself, my car seat knowledge is old.

She says:

"The concern that he is too big for a traditional seat led to us buying and modifying racing seats for the van but the 4 point harness was too large for him and didn't keep him seated securely. After one too many emergency stops where I had to pull over and adjust him I had Rick take them out and put our seats back in.
He's currently using the Graco Atlas 65 in the van, and the Nautilus on rare occasions he ends up in the truck.
I'm not sure we'll find a solution to make the racing seats manageable until he grows significantly. So I have been looking into other options...
He is able to sit independently but sitting in a booster with a seatbelt wouldn't be secure enough.
Our PT said to look Into the EZ On Vest and another parent asked about this Baby Safety Car Seat Vest... But I'm not sure if that's even safe?
I'm not really down to spend an exorbitant amount of money on a car seat just because it's "adaptive" that kind of thing pisses me off (charging special needs parent outrageous amounts of money for something just because there's not a lot of options).
I'm also reluctant to purchase something without knowing it will be safe."

Re: Vest options?

Special needs car seats aren't usually paid for by parents- insurance pays as durable medical equipment. That's why they are able to charge an amount that makes manufacturing worth it. If she needs help finding a special needs trained tech, we can help with that and they can help her navigate that process.

These needs are positional, not behavioral, correct? But the child only needs a bit of torso support, not extensive additional supports?

If the child still fits in a Nautilus by both weight and height there will be plenty of growth room in a Britax Pioneer, Frontier, or Pinnacle (all the same harness height so no need to spend extra for the Pinnacle.)

An Ez-On vest for family vehicles with a seatbelt or floor mount, or their 86-Y harness, may also meet their needs. She can check those out at www.ezonpro.com if she wants.

The Ride Safer Delight Vest, on the other hand, is FMVSS approved and may or may not meet their needs; it provides a little additional support if used with the optional tether.

The best option would be to meet with a special needs trained tech to evaluate his needs in person and discuss both conventional and adaptive options. As a SN trained tech myself, I can say that in-person evals are really the best thing for everyone involved. So anything we can do to help find one, let us know!

Re: Vest options?

If you have any SN trained techs in the Reno Nv or Carson City NV area I would love some info to pass along to her. We have a Point of Impact program through REMSA, but I am unaware of anyone specializing in Special needs (granted my Tech cert expired close to 10 years ago, so I have not been active with them)

Re: Vest options?

It looks like there is one special needs trained tech in Carson City and one in Reno. You can find them by searching here; just select the dropdown for Nevada under State, and check "special needs" at the bottom; don't enter any other info. You can then go through the list by city and get all their contact info.

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